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The Thomas A. Edison Papers Digital Edition

[LB049056], Letter from Alfred Ord Tate to William Farley Brewster, April 20th, 1891
https://edisondigital.rutgers.edu/document/LB049056

Transcription

April 20, 1891. 
W.F. Brewster, Esq.,
Grand Hotel,
Indianapolis, Ind. 
Dear Sir:- 
Your letter of 1st instant has remained unanswered owing to the absence of Mr. Edison, who returned to the Laboratory only a few days ago. 
In reply Mr. Edison has instructed me to say that it must be obvious to you that every one who first went into the electric motor business would necessarily conceive of having a gearless motor.  The reason gearless motors are not used is, that to get the same power as with gears, they have to be made enormously large. The Westinghouse gearless motor would simply pull a bobtail car on a level; on a slight grade it would get stalled. 
Yours truly, 
(Signed A.O. Tate) 
Private Secretary.

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